1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medical arts and clamping devices for immobilizing a part of the body, and more particularly to a toe clamp capable of applying a compressive force to the toes for the purpose of straightening them.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Rue, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 393,931 describes a toe spacer device design
Baltor, U.S. Pat. No. 2,471,997 describes a toe brace comprising a member having ring portions adapted to receive the toes of a foot, said ring portions having curved outer and inner surfaces and being interconnected by webs at points of tangency between adjacent ring portions.
Murray, U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,112 describes a toe positioner comprising a resilient molded piece having a member which spans a plurality of the toes of the feet which member has reslient three dimensional form exactly conforming to the contours of the exposed surface portion of the toes, a plurality of interdigital elements carried by said member each of which is adapted to fit into a space between the toes, said interdigital elements being resilient and having a three dimensional form that of the toes adjacent the space whereby the toes are separated by resilient yielding member that apply pressure conforming to the natural contour of the toes and in which structure the said member that spans a plurality of the toes of the feet completely evenelops the front portion of the foot.
Charlebois, U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,894 describes a disposable foot appliance having a lower sole receiving member and a separately formed upper member secured thereto, said members comprising of a moisture absorbent soft paper tissue material, said upper member having an undulated front end portion and an uninterrupted foot receiving rear portion, a plurality of longituidinal extending loops and despressions in said upper member providing separate toe receiving compartments, said depressions extending from said undulated front end portion toward said rear end portion of said upper member and terminating therebetween to form webbed portions said webbed portions to be received in the area of the foot between each tow member to absorb excess moisture and means in said upper member to provide a circulation of air to the tow area.
Kurth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,309 describes a toe aeration appliance adapted to be mounted in partially toe-underlying and partially upwardly inserted relationship between toes of a foot within a shoe for providing optimum physical spacing, isolation, and cushioning of toes with respect to each other, moisture absorption from toe surfaces, and aeration of the toes, comprising a laterally extended continuous, non-interrupted base portion integrally provided with four generally similar, laterally spaced, upstanding, toe-separating and toe-spacing projection portions separated from each other by three intervening upwardly open toe-receiving recesses go with upper ends of each of said four toe-separating and toe-spacing projection portions being of upwardly convex, rounded configuration and being completely free and independent of each other, the plurality thereof being non-interconnected at their tops, and independently deflectable during use and defining each of said three intervening toe-receiving recesses in a manner completely upwardly open and downwardly engageable by a corresponding different toe through the complete open top end thereof, said laterally extended base portion being provided with an additional integral little toe extension portion at a first lateral extreme end thereof extending laterally beyond the corresponding adjacent, outwardly extreme one of said four laterally spaced, upstanding toe-separating and toe-spacing projection portions a distance slightly greater than the width of a little toe whereby to be adapted to fully underlie a little toe in a shoe; said laterally extended base portion being also provided with an additional integral big toe extension portion at a second lateral extreme end thereof and extending laterally beyond the corresponding adjacent, outwardly extreme one of said four laterally spaced, upstanding, toe-separating and toe-spacing projection portions a distance slightly greater than the width of a big toe whereby to be adapted to fully underlie a big toe in a shoe; said laterally extended base portion, said four laterally spaced, upstanding toe-separating and toe-spacing projection portions, said integral little toe extension portion, and said, integral big toe extension portion at opposite ends of said laterally extended base portion all being made of a readily compressible and collapsible, porous foam elastomeric material of a communicating cell type having a plurality of interconnecting air cells in air flow communication with exterior surfaces thereof and communicatingly dispersed and disseminated throughout the interior thereof whereby to provide a plurality of air flow and air circulation aeration passages extending completely therethrough.
Warren, Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,128 describes a self-supporting sock providing for improved blood circulation in the leg of the user, the sock being formed by knitted fabric, the sock being of a height to extend below the knee of the user and having an elastic band at the top having elastic threads therein, the elastic band having a notch formed therein extending in a direction towards the sock heel portion, the notch being substantially the full length of the elastic band.
The prior art teaches the immobilization and clamping of the toes of the feet of a primate, but does not teach the application of opposing rigid clamping blocks with means for engaging a compressive wrap. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The invention provides a pair of rigid clamping blocks, each with a length approximating the width of a human foot across the toes wherein one side of each of the blocks engages a compressible pad, and the other side of the blocks provides a longitudinal groove in an outfacing surface. A clamping wrap engages the longitudinal grooves in the pair of blocks when the blocks are placed on opposing sides of the toes and the clamping wrap encircles them, for applying a compressive force to the blocks and the toes sandwiched therebetween.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide such an invention capable of applying a compressive force to the toes of a human foot.
A further objective is to provide such an invention capable of selective compressive force.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.